The Tides of Change, a Novel by @rodeo670: Part 4

rodeo670 (61)in #thetidesofchange • 6 years ago

This is the story of Jordan Dela Cruz, a USMC Iraq War veteran who comes home to Saipan and becomes a History teacher to help the next generation break free from the shackles of the cultural generational poverty mindset, which keeps the status quo alive and keeps the people of the CNMI disempowered and believing that nothing will ever change.

Read Part 1 HERE
Read Part 2 HERE
Read Part 3 HERE

“Hey Jordan, what’s up?” Nathan asked when he answered the call.

“Not much Nate, I just got home from work, what are you up to?” Jordan responded.

“Oh, you know, just watching a movie before falling asleep. The usual,” Nathan said, laughing.

“So something happened today…it’s one of those things that’s sad but also happy at the same time, if that makes any sense to you.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean by that, what happened?”

“Well, today was quite possibly the last day of my time as a teacher.”

“What?!? What happened man?”

“I got suspended from teaching today, my principal broke the news to me this morning when I came in for work. It ate away at me all day man, I just couldn’t believe what I had heard!”

“Did they say why they’re suspending you?”

“Yeah, she told me that my radical political views are a bad influence on the kids and are a threat to the school system, and after multiple talks with me I still haven’t toned my methods down, so she said she had no other choice. Can you believe that?”

“Dude, that’s crazy! Did you explain to her why you teach the way you do?”

“Yeah, I told her as much as I thought she needed to know, but she wasn’t buying a single word of it. Either that, or she knows exactly what I’m trying to do, and she is in league with those who want to prevent me from accomplishing my plan,” Jordan replied as he began to think about the possibility of what he had just said.

“Wow man, that sucks…so what are you gonna do now? What about the kids?”

“Well, that’s why it’s also a happy thing at the same time, man. When I broke the news to my kids earlier, they were devastated, and very enthusiastic about doing something to help me get reinstated as their teacher. They’re actually going to go write up a petition! And they said some really heartwarming things to me before the day ended, stuff that I’ve really needed to hear from someone else to make me feel like my efforts aren’t all just a big waste of time, you know?”

“Yeah, I know, you’re always telling me about how you don’t feel like enough people are reading your Letters to the Editor, how people don’t think you’re really doing anything, or whatever…which is ridiculous, because I’ve read all the letters you wrote, and I mean, you speak the truth in every single one of them! I don’t get how anyone could say stuff like that to you after reading your letters...”

Jordan always sent his letters to Nathan to get a second opinion on them before he sent them to the papers for publishing as a Letter to the Editor. Nathan would read the letters and tell Jordan what he really thought about them, and if anything needed to be toned down for public consumption. This was a service that Jordan was forever grateful to Nathan for providing.

“I mean, you’ve read my letters, bro. You know why. Family allegiance and generational mindsets play a huge part in the politics here. That’s why I’m working so closely with the kids; or at least, I used to, anyway…if we have any hope of building a brighter future, we have to start teaching the kids the right things now, so that they grow up to be like you and I, fighting corruption and injustice on all levels, instead of perpetuating the generational mindset of ‘Oh, that’s just the way it is, things will never change no matter what’. Anyway, sorry to interrupt your movie time by calling this late, I just had to tell you about it first, before I go tell my parents over dinner tonight.”

“Oh no, don’t even worry about it, Jordan! You always make time for me bro, so I will always make time for you. But are you sure that telling your parents is a good idea? Won’t they be pissed at you?”

“Yeah, I know they will be, and you know how I get whenever my parents get that way with me…but I have to tell them dude, because if I don’t, they’ll just end up finding out from someone else, and that situation will be even worse…”

“Yeah, I see what you mean, man. What are you going to do after that, though? You’ll have all this free time now, right?”

“Well, I guess I’m taking it one step at a time for now; this whole dinner with my parents thing has got my mind all messed up right now because I know what’s gonna end up happening when I tell them…so I guess that’s the only thing I’m focusing on for now. I’ll have to think about my next move tomorrow, after I’m rested up and the confrontation with my parents is over. I’ll be able to think more clearly that way.”

“That definitely sounds like a good idea. You should call me tomorrow and let me know how it all goes, Jordan!” Nathan said excitedly.

“Sure thing, Nate, but I can’t promise you I’ll have good news to tell you…you know how these things go,” Jordan responded.

“Either way, I still want to hear all about it, bud. I’ll be here to listen no matter what.”

“Well, I guess I’ll let you get back to your movie, bro. I’m gonna go read a little before I have to start preparing for dinner tonight. Thank you for being there for me to talk to about all this. Good night man!”

“Of course man, you know I’m always here for you, just as you are always there for me. Good luck with your parents; I look forward to hearing all about it tomorrow! Good night bro, I’ll catch you tomorrow.”

“Alright man, later.” They hung up on each other, and Jordan reached over to his nightstand to pick up his copy of “Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau. He had already read it numerous times in his lifetime, but he was in the process of reading it again due to the relevance of Thoreau’s words when it came to the current state of the CNMI. This evening, however, Jordan was reading it in order to help steel himself for his encounter with his parents at 8:00. He found that whenever he was feeling uncertain about a political action that he was considering, Thoreau’s words always had a way of pushing him to continue doing what needed to be done. The dinner meeting with his parents was no political action, but the moral support and encouragement of Thoreau’s words still had the same effect on Jordan.

When he reached the end, he turned back to a section near the beginning that he had highlighted because it brought him the most comfort in times like this. He read it out loud, repeating it over and over again until it became a part of his very being. “Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator? Why has every man a conscience, then? I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterward. It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right. The only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at any time what I think right.”

Before he knew it, he had passed out on his bed with the book open and resting on his face. He woke up to the sound of his alarm, which reminded him that he only had an hour left before he had to meet with his parents for dinner. He got up out of his bed and hopped in the shower to start getting ready. As he showered, all he could think about was how nervous he was, because things always went bad when he talked to his parents about things like this. He began to repeat the section from “Civil Disobedience” which he had committed to memory earlier, which served to calm his nerves for a while. He finished up with his shower and got dressed.

He glanced at the clock on the wall of his room and saw that he only had half an hour left before 8:00. He realized that he had to leave at that very moment if he wanted to get to the restaurant in time, or he would risk giving his parents yet another thing to criticize him about, in addition to the news that he was about to break to them. He grabbed his phone on the way out, fired up his car, and began the drive down to China House, hoping that he would get there on time.

The whole drive over, he couldn’t stop thinking about the possible outcomes of the night. He began to worry that maybe there really were no positive outcomes for what he was about to do, but then he began to repeat the mantra that he picked up from reading Thoreau, and he decided that he needed to go through with this no matter what the consequences would be, for his own conscience would never forgive him if he were to back down. Before he knew it, he was past the point of no return, for he was only a few yards away from the restaurant.

Thank you for reading! This is just a part of a chapter of the novel...I would have posted the whole chapter, but it would have been way too long and you probably would not have stayed to read the whole thing. So I decided to break the chapters up into smaller parts for easier reading on Steemit.

As you read my novel, there will be words that you don't understand...those words are commonly used in our vernacular back home in the CNMI (the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands), kind of our own special version of English, I suppose, which mixes in words from other languages. Feel free to ask me what they mean in the comments below!

If you liked what you read, I hope you will consider translating that into an upvote and leaving a comment below to start a discussion with me about my novel!