Chapter 97 - Convincing the Big Wig

Philip Goh was a tired-looking man in his fifties. The man wore some faded long-sleeved shirt that was ironed till it was thin but he still wore it to work. Anyone could tell that he was a humble man and it was hard to find someone who would hate him.

The man was famous on campus for not only for his love for cafeteria lunches but also because he was the man who held the most power in the school. Yes, Philip Goh was the founder of Joyville International as well as its principal. Today, the busy principal was sipping on coffee when he was informed that he had thirteen unexpected guests.

Almost immediately, the principal jumped and scrambled to ready the underutilised conference room for the guests. It wasn't often that Dany or the special class made their presence known. For such a grand visit, something of major importance must precede it.

By the time Philip made himself presentable, the thirteen guests were already helping themselves to the chocolates and snacks in the conference room while waiting for him. Danny beamed at the sight of the humble principal and stood up to greet him. His students followed his example to stand up and bow in greeting but Philip was quick to urge them to take their seats.

"That was some rather short notice, Mr Wong. May I know what's the agenda behind the sudden visit?"

The counsellor grinned and glanced over to Jasper. "It's nothing bad. The class and I had a discussion about this semester's class bonding activity and we would like to seek your permission for some inter-class activity session. Jasper here came up with the proposal and the rest of the class are eager to participate in a little healthy competition. Jasper, please."

The young entrepreneur felt his stomach drop at the sudden bomb passed to him. He stood up stiffly and bowed, his brain running miles per second trying to put together a sound plan to convince the principal.

Philip was impressed by how collected the boy was acting. He carried himself with professionalism beyond his age that the school founder couldn't help but applaud. Jasper Hopper had innate leadership qualities that Philip wanted to personally polish. Not only that, he could see now why Jasper was considered a genius despite the results pointing out that he could be merely gifted with his above-average intelligence and maturity. Wilmer Wilde insisted vehemently that all three of his children were genius by different measures.

Initially, Philip only recognised Scarlet to be a genius and Wilmer's other two children were merely considered above-average and talented. However, Philip didn't think that Alex nor Jasper deserved the title of genius because they had very ordinary answers in the interview questionnaire. Still, Wilmer pushed it hard and made the principal an offer he couldn't refuse. Everyone knew that supporting the special class took a lot of funding. Wilmer was able to cover all the expenses for the special class if Philip accepted all three of his children into it. The terms were more favourable for the school from a business perspective. it didn't have much to lose out on whereas Wilmer was forking out a hefty price in exchange for it. That was the only reason why Philip agreed to give Alex and Jasper equal treatment like how the other geniuses of the special class would be treated.

He heard stories about how Alex and Jasper fought had to forge their own paths and recognised that apart from talent and gift, they deserved to be in the special class simply because of their hunger to excel. The boy, in particular, had a rather interesting project and impact on the students causing Philip the most headache.

While Philip didn't dislike the students in the Entrepreneur's Circle. However, they were making it difficult for him to justify the education system and rebuttals from jealous parents about the special treatment these misfits received from the school. The principal was a strong believer that every child deserves the chance to succeed and tried his best to provide the best for every child based on their capabilities. Streams were formed to match a teacher suited to the group of students' learning pace. The special stream was a small group of unique individuals with different talents and gifts who didn't need a lot of guidance from the school. They represented the school or country to accomplish world-changing deeds. On the other hand, the existence of the delinquent class was due to the social hierarchy created by the snobbish rich students that made up the majority of Joyville International. It was something beyond Philip's control and the one regret he had ever since the birth of the school.

No teacher wanted to teach the delinquent class simply because the task was too daunting and intimidating. The only person who volunteered for the job was Danny who was technically the school counsellor. He went in there from time to time to ensure that the students were in good mental condition and never forced them to study if they didn't want to. At the same time, Philip couldn't be more grateful to the eccentric counsellor for volunteering to be the person in charge of the highly challenging bunch of students from the special stream.

It certainly wasn't an easy task to find a teacher capable of stimulating the genius class when they were all so diverse and bright. These children came from all sorts of backgrounds, ages and countries. They specialised in different areas that most ordinary people couldn't relate to. Philip didn't know if it was a blessing in disguise that Dany had a son who was also a genius. Elfie's school fees were subsidised by the school as part of special staff benefits to retain the counsellor.

Imagine Philip's surprise when Danny introduced a very rich and influential CEO as his friend who wanted to enrol his three children with the school. Now, looking at Jasper, Philip wondered if this was going to be the turning point for Joyville International. Was he looking at the future hope of this campus?

"Hence, I would like to propose a plan that could help to foster better inter-class relationsh.i.p.s as well as a healthy competition to inspire the students who have long given up hope on themselves. There is as much to learn from them as much as there is to give."

As Jasper's pitch concluded, Philip found himself smiling from ear to ear. Everyone in the special class took it as a good sign and held onto their breaths, waiting for the final verdict. Once the principal gives his approval, they couldn't wait to split up into teams and discuss their team strategy.

"I have to admit that I am impressed by how detailed you planned this. Very well, I have no objections to the inter-class activity. However, there are a few things that you have to agree to. Firstly, Dany must be in the class to supervise your activities at all times. Any after-class activities must be arranged and signed by all your guardians and returned to Danny. This applies to both the special class and the members of the Entrepreneur's Circle."

Nobody objected to it and Philip continued. "Secondly, I would like all teams to submit their poof of class-bonding activities. You must all make a scrapbook full of pictures, plans, reflections or feedback about each other as proof that you can make new friends."

The girls squealed in excitement at making a scrapbook for memory and the boys started discussing how many pages would qualify for a scrapbook, trying to put in as little effort as possible for the project.

"Lastly, I would like everyone to aim for a record-breaking result for the students in the Entrepreneur's Circle club. With this many brilliant students tutoring them, I think Joyville International would see yet another miracle. For change to happen, we must first break the cycle and build a new path to follow. Our teachers have failed these children and now, I have to ask a favour from you, the future of your generation to guide them to the best of your abilities."

Touched by the principal's speech, everyone agreed to the terms and assured the humble man that they would give it their best.

Danny smiled and thanked Philip for giving them the green-light before calling for a class meeting and briefing before they visited their new classmates. Philip graciously left the conference full of smiles. He couldn't wait to see the mid-year examination's test average scores.