Father Abel Chang walked briskly toward the principal's office, his black cassock billowing behind him. His black leather ankle boots made a loud, rhythmic clip-clopping on the tiled floor.
He knocked politely and entered the office, a large room with pristine white walls that were adorned with ornate oil painting portraits of various Roman Catholic saints. A massive display shelf, filled with various trophies and awards, dominated the far wall.
Father Joseph Xavier, the principal of St. Ignatius Academy, was seated at his massive walnut desk, also in a severely cut, plain black cassock. He was a tall, intimidating African American in his 60s with closely cropped black hair and a stern demeanor. Sitting in hard-backed wooden chairs before him was an Eastern European couple.
"Father Abel, this is Mr and Mrs. Zakhrov. They are here to seek admission for their son Aaron.", rumbled Father Joseph in his deep African American baritone.
"I see," said Father Abel, taking a seat next to them. He smiled warmly at the couple. "I am Father Abel, the guidance counselor." he introduced himself.
"Hello Father Abel, I am Ivan Zakhrov.", the man introduced himself. He was a tall and dark man, with silky black hair, and dressed in a Navy-blue suit that gave him the distinguished demeanor of an academic.
"These are Aaron's IQ and psychology assessments and standard test scores," he said, handing Father Abel a folder.
Father Abel studied the documents with growing surprise. Aaron's IQ was well above average, his verbal reasoning score in particular was in the 99.9th percentile. His test scores were also very impressive, particularly computer science and programming while other subjects were about average. Aaron was only 12 years old, and he was already answering questions that most 10th graders would find challenging.
"I see no problems academically," said Father Abel."I know that. But what concerns us is that he has developed a very cold and calculated way of speaking." explained the mother. She, too, was tall and slender with long black hair, and Eastern European features, but dressed far more casually than her husband, in a turquoise sweater-top, faded blue jeans and white sneakers. "I'm Annette Zakhrov, I teach English at the Boston public school" she introduced herself, extending her hand to Father Abel.
"Could you give me an example of what you mean?" asked Father Abel as he shook her hand.
Annette paused to collect her thoughts.
"Well. He speaks in an overly formal manner, quite unlike most children. I suppose I am to blame for that. I gave him literature that was quite advanced for him." she said softly.
"Please, do not blame yourself." urged Father Abel. "There is nothing inherently wrong about a formal speech pattern." He tried to assure her, but she shook her head, her soft black hair swaying like curtains around her delicate face.
"That's only the start of it, Father! It sometimes feels like he has no emotions at all! He rarely smiles, and he always looks at you with this analytical gaze like he's studying a specimen!" she exclaimed.
Ivan put a comforting arm around his wife. "Aaron has absolutely no friends, and no social media presence. It would be one thing if he was just an introvert who plays video games, but he spends almost all his time on programming and learning computer science. I suppose that's partly my influence. I'm a professor of computer science at MIT." he explained.
"I see," said Father Abel, flipping to Aaron's psychological assessment. The assessor had made a note about Aaron's cold, quiet and calculating demeanor emulating classic stoicism. She also mentioned that Aaron's tone and mannerisms seem to be based on classical Victorian speech patterns and British "stiff upper-lip" style of Stoic behavior.
Father Abel closed the folder and handed it back to Ivan. "I think Aaron would do well over here at St. Ignatius Academy." he said.
"You really think so Father?" asked Ivan, hope in his and Annette's eyes.
"Yes. I believe that exposure to peers a little older and more mature than him might help him adjust socially. With our zero tolerance policy for bullying, I think this would be a safe environment for him to open up" said Father Abel.
Father Joseph raised his finger in caution. "Young Aaron still needs to take our entrance exam which can be quite challenging." he warned.
Confidence gleamed in Ivan's eyes. "That would be no problem Father." he assured Father Joseph as he and Annette stood to leave.
After the Zakhrovs had left, Father Joseph turned to Father Abel. "Are you sure the kid can handle our curriculum?" he asked with a skepticism borne from handling too many parents with high expectations of their children.
Father Abel frowned at the older man's dismissive tone. "You saw the IQ and test scores yourself. I think this kid's the real deal." he said cautiously.
Father Joseph growled in resignation. "Well keep an eye on him, will you? I'm not about to let our school's reputation go down the drain for some brat." he said, dismissing Father Abel.
Father Abel sighed as he returned to his own office. Father Joseph was a man who took pride and comfort in the orderly progression of things and didn't like potentially disrupting influences such as a 12-year-old prodigy joining the 9th grade.