Chapter 90: Only Ten Million?
Nature Academy thrived mainly because of how much the parents of the students supported the school. Most of the students that went here were from prominent families and their parents were all very generous in helping the school to advance. Francis' parents were also some of the largest supporters of the school, so they were treated as very important personnel by the school.
Linda thought that the headmaster would immediately agree to expel Mark now that the Coltons were also involved in the case, but she was shocked when the headmaster spoke up again.
"I've heard about this 'situation' before. But from all the reports I've been getting, isn't it Francis who has been instigating the conflicts between him and Mark? Am I wrong, Harry?"
"Ah… Uhm… I don't think it is i-important who begins it. These things are common among people of their age, headmaster. The boys just love to rile each other up. But we know Mark is too dangerous to leave around Francis with that much power."
Everyone in the room went silent as they watched the headmaster and the headmaster just kept his intense gaze fixed on Harry for the next few seconds until Harry was looking down at the table and wishing that he could sink into his seat from how uncomfortable he felt.
The headmaster eventually looked away and asked if anyone else had anything more to add. The headmaster was not even going to grace what Harry said with a response since it did not deserve one. It was irrational and silly to believe that Mark was at fault when he was not even the one who began the altercations.
He never starts the fights, and yet he did not hurt Francis before, so why would Mark go after Francis now that his powers were exposed?
Linda bit the inside of her lip when she heard the headmaster's dismissive tone and she glared at Harry in annoyance! Couldn't he just lie about what was happening between Francis and Mark!? This useless buffon! The headmaster was going to think that they had a personal vendetta against Mark! Linda immediately spoke up before they closed the meeting and the headmaster turned to regard her curiously.
"We understand what has been said here by everyone but we want everyone to remember that there is a certain level of safety and comfort that is promised to the students of this school by the school authorities. We expect this level of safety to be upheld and we do not think it will remain that way if Mark is kept as a member of the school.
So, in light of that, I and my fellow members of the PTA will be withdrawing our support from the school if Mark Vanitas is left as a member."
Juliet's eyes widened once she heard what Linda said and even the headmaster seemed shocked by what Linda just said. He looked towards the third person sitting on Linda's side and that person nodded her head as well as she agreed with what Linda said.
That person was another prominent member of the PTA. She hadn't said a word since the meeting started, but her mere presence here gave validity to what Linda was saying and it showed that Linda was really serious about withdrawing the funds that they would be providing to the school. The headmaster spoke up calmly.
"Do you not think this is too much? Mark has posed no danger to the students since he started this school and there has been no incident where he accidentally injured a student. I do not think you need to go this far to have him expelled."
"It is necessary to ensure the safety of the students. That is the job of both the parents and teachers. And the parents believe that Mark Vanitas is a danger to the students and he should be removed from the school with immediate effect."
Linda did not bother looking towards the headmaster as she said this and the headmaster sighed as he began to think deeply. Linda knew that what she was saying was not the complete truth.
In fact, some of the parents in the PTA were large fans of GHOST and they were not interested in kicking Mark out of the school at all, but Linda was able to make them silent since she was the PTA chairwoman and she was using her position to make it seem as though all the members of the PTA supported her. She was going to get Mark out of this school no matter what.
But all of a sudden, a deep, regal voice spoke up and everyone turned towards the last person at the table that hasn't bothered to take part in the meeting till now. The person was a tall man wearing an expensive black suit. He had rectangular glasses and an expensive rose gold Rolex watch that gleamed as he folded his hands across his chest.
His face was smooth, but his full head of white hair made it difficult for anyone to know his actual age. He gave everyone a nonchalant look as he uttered only four words.
"Then let them go."
Linda scrunched up her face in irritation as she heard this man speak. She met him earlier when she was coming into the meeting room and she tried to strike up a conversation with him once she saw how sharp and rich he looked.
She thought she could get herself an eighth husband through him, but the man did not even bother giving her the time of day as he ignored everything she wanted to say and walked past her. She already hated him before knowing where he stood and now that she knew he was against her, she couldn't help but hate him more.
"What do you mean by let them go? Are you saying we should take our children away from the school and withdraw our funding? Do you think this school will remain afloat for a year if we take everything away from them?"
The man gave Linda a stern look that almost made her retreat into herself. He looked like a father glaring at his disobedient child at that moment and Linda hated how it made her feel small in front of him. The man then looked towards the headmaster.
"How much does the entire PTA contribute to the school yearly?"
The headmaster didn't even need to look at any document as he immediately gave the number off the top of his head.
"The PTA contributes a total of ten million dollars yearly to the running and maintenance of the school. They are our biggest benefactors in terms of financial support."
The man immediately brought out a check from his pocket and held his hand out to the man sitting beside him. George didn't waste any time as he provided him with a pen and everyone watched in stunned silence as the man wrote out a check for fifty million dollars like it was nothing!