The Substitute War

In February of 1997 a mysterious sickness began to emerge around MMJH. The disease was a slow spreading one and wasn’t considered a cause for alarm. More curious still was the fact that only teachers seemed to become infected with illness. Over time an increasing number of substitute teachers had to be brought in to cover the workload. The overseeing Principal at the time ordered an investigation. A strain of the disease was collected and study began.

In the mean time grades began to drop and unruly students were becoming a problem. The substitutes didn’t have the authority to administer the same punishments or alter the curriculum in order to maintain order. They pleaded with the Principal to grant them more power over the student’s grades. The Principal denied their request seeing as the sooner antidote was found for the disease the sooner the substitute’s usefulness will have ended. Unsatisfied the subs immediately went to the Alabama Board of Education. After pleading their case and presenting the board with a sample of the questioned disease they were granted the power they wanted.

The Substitutes became drunk with power. They quickly began to dig their claws into the very heart of the Stanhopian hierarchy. They managed to get Substitute representatives into the Vice Principal positions and MMJH weathered the summer months with a somewhat corrupted system. When the next school year began tragedy struck. The Principle became infected with the disease now being called the Black Leave.

It is rumored that the Principle received a well come back package from a group of students the day before he became infected. The package was confiscated by the Vice Principle. A Substitute Representative was moved into the position and the teachers began to sense something was askew. They asked to see the welcome back package but it had mysteriously disappeared.

The teachers began to suspect that the Substitutes were behind the Black Leave in some way. The Substitute Principle feared rebellion and began to enforce harsher laws to keep the teachers in line. Unfortunately for the Substitutes this only pushed the teachers to rebellion quicker.

In September the Substitute Principle razed the price of sustenance for the teachers. This lead to an argument during lunch hours one day. A fight broke out between a teacher and a Substitute over the price of a slice of pizza and the teachers and Substitutes joined their respective sides. Thus the Substitute Wars began.

Only after the war began did the Substitutes issue a statement that the Black Leave was of their own design and that they had enlisted the help of a select group of students to get everyone infected. They threatened to use biological warfare against the teachers. What they didn’t expect was that a number of students would object to Substitute rule and join the teachers.

Fighting lasted for quite some time and mostly took place in the surrounding Elmoron Forest. The teachers used what resources they had to stage whatever kind of attack they could. They used old football equipment to fashion crude battle armor that turned out to be more effective against Sub-weaponry than expected. The Substitutes realized the effectiveness of this technique and also used old football equipment to fashion battle gear. It is by pure coincidence that the teachers first used the home uniforms for there basic battle gear and the substitutes used the away gear.

The Substitutes did as promised and continued to use the Black Leave against the teachers. Most of the teacher’s success came from the ever-growing number of students that objected substitute rule. Eventually the teachers found a cure for the Black Leave. As such many of the previously infected teachers began to return. Although this meant that the returning teacher’s substitute hand to give up there power the substitutes refused to relinquish their power.

During this time many of the troops patrolling the Elmoron Forest would bring back tales of the legendary Lost City of Stanhope. This lost city was the fabled golden city of the Stanhopian culture. Many teacher and Substitute troops began searching for this mysterious city but no one could seem to find it. Those who did find it brought back horrible stories of millions of deadly Toe Biting Spiders that had killed the majority of their troop.

Substitutes and teachers alike had secret concentration camps hidden in the Elmoron Forest. Only a few accounts of what went on there have been recorded. Most who survived the experience would never agree to speak of what tragedies transpired there. We do know that the teachers put up fences to keep the captive substitutes from escaping. The few accounts of what torture the substitutes were made to endure at these camps are too terrible to retell here. But one thing that most survivors of the Sub-camps agree on is that the things that went on at the Sub-camps were much, much worse than anything that happened at the teacher camps.

After a long absence the Principal finally regained his health and returned to aid his people. The teacher’s confidence began to burn again. Teacher’s intelligence began to learn that substitutes were becoming infected with a disease similar to the Black Leave. Apparently the Black Leave had mutated and now affected substitutes as well. The Principal finally lead the teachers to victory at the battle of R.S.S. where the Substitute Principal surrendered and gave up the fail-safe vaccine for the Black Leave. The Principal used the powers of the Ancient Playground of R.S.S. that had been left there years ago to defeat the substitutes. He then collected the powers in a cup, which he christened the Magic Chalice. He hid it in the playground and left a number of clues in the form of a blue paw print that would lead to the Chalice’s hiding place. The substitutes were forced into an agreement that left them with even less power than they had originally had. With the signing of this treaty all returned to the way it was and life continued in the Stanhopian lands.

The Lost City of Stanhope would later be discovered by two veterans of the Substitute War. John T. Ray and Taylor Proulx found the city and braved the Toe Biting Spiders to discover the Ancient Tomb of Ernestian Fryar Lucas the greatest ruler of ancient Stanhopia. There they found the Ancient Relic of Ernestian Fryar Lucas and used the findings to further study the sight. The formerly lost City of Stanhope has recently been refurbished and repopulated. The Toe Biting Spiders were exterminated and supposedly there are no more nests in or around Stanhope.

John T. Ray would also later return to R.S.S. along with the heir to Lavish Inc., William Lavisher. They discovered the Magic Chalice and brought it back. The Chalice is now in JTR’s personal collection at his home in Millbrook.

Due to the recent acts of violence at Stanhope Elmore High School, my children have enlightened me about the hard cold fact of school life. Whether the state of our schools is due to the change in times, change in laws, or just our lack of expressing right versus wrong, our schools and society have changed. Our children are looking for answers, who will guide them, or will they have to find the way on their own?
When my youngest son began having trouble at school, I told him “We do not fight, simply avoid the student”. But after coming home with bruises on his arm and then again around his neck, my husband stepped in. He told our son that he needed to protect himself, to warn the boy and then take action. Still in mother mode, I made sure our son was trying to avoid trouble. The school assured me that his teachers would be warned and they would monitor the situation. But trouble continued and my son, on his own, made an appointment with a school counselor. Her response was to inform me that she had spoken to my son, and if he retaliated, he would be written up, and not allowed to attend B.E.T.A. functions or field trips. Finally I got the picture! Good kids remain silent to continue their activities while others have nothing to lose. His teachers did step in and control the situation but I now was aware of one unspoken rule of school.
My son was excited to inform me that a high school teacher was seen “tackling” a student involved in a fight. This was disturbing enough in itself, but more alarming was my quiet, mild mannered daughters elation that somebody finally took action. She actually seemed empowered. Someone she admired was willing to meet violence with violence to protect her safety, not just stop the noise in the halls so she could study.
Not long after that incident, more shocking news filtered home. There was apparently a fight at school where one student was attacked by more that one student and then beaten while he was down. My teenagers found it troubling that no one came to this student’s aid sooner. No matter who they were or what started the problem, my children felt help could have come quicker even if other students had to get involved. My daughter found the courage to admit that she might have to protect not only herself but also other students. She has stepped from her “just-let-me-be-invisible” stance to protect fellow students before, but the thought of actually having to endanger herself to do the right thing became real. My sons and daughter understand that to “step in” might cost them their extra activities. Clubs, Athletics, Band, B.E.T.A., and other groups on campus have strict rules. The next rule was not as simple.
My son, who has already graduated from Stanhope, informed me of even more startling facts. Teachers are there to help, but some move faster than others. Thanks to college physiology, he explained to me the principals of “Diffusion of Responsibility” and “Social Loafing”. When participating as a member of a group, we have a strong tendency to put forth less effort than we would if we were alone. So many people in one place, each has a tendency to think, “Surely someone else will help, I don’t have to.” Each person displaces the responsibility to someone else or just stands with the crowd. Who will take the responsibility to help?
The very same conformity that is essential to maintain order becomes a hazard when it affects the well being of an individual. Heroism and self-defense are looked down upon because it requires a certain individuality that goes against the conformity required to maintain order. Teachers cannot be everywhere, what are our teenagers to do? Do they remain quiet or do they step out of the crowd, knowing the school may punish them for getting involved. Teenagers see and understand the unspoken rules of school perhaps better than the adults around them. But not all of them have given up on right and wrong.
What am I to tell my children? What do teachers and school officials expect from students? I wish our children never had to make dangerous decisions between right and wrong, but they will be faced with them. How will our school officials deal with the problem as more of our teenagers question their school official’s ability to maintain control?