Rise Of The Penniless Trillionaire

Chapter 6

Jason decided that instead of staying in the class and being humiliated further by other students, he would follow after the principal and try to make him understand that he is not a thief.

He would apologize if he had to. He just did not want to be labeled a thief. The stigma would stick throughout his stay in college and he was just in his sophomore year.

As the principal got into his office, Jason followed after him. 

"What are you doing here?" The principal asked him, seething with rage. 

"Please sir, I want you to know that I did not steal any money from the school," Jason pleaded. All his pleas fell on deaf ears as the principal did not bother to spare him a glance. He was adamant. He decided that he would not walk away.

Jason wanted to speak again, at least to say something or better still vividly explain himself, but the ringing of the principal's telephone interrupted him. 

The principal answered him immediately, and it was a call from one of the major sponsors of the college.

The principal suddenly broke into a smile. Jason was surprised at how fast anger had shifted to joy. He had never seen the principal smile so hard before.

"I was going to call you to appreciate you for the funds you sent," the principal said with a changed countenance. It was quite obvious that he was a very greedy man. He was smiling at the thought of the biggest college sponsor calling him.

"Well, I just wanted to inform you that Jason Abbott, a student in your school, is now the new sponsor of your college," the caller said. It was Declan on the line. He was Mr Abbott's major representative and he only doubled as Jason's manager. 

The principal's face fell. He was not sure that he had heard what the caller was saying.

Is this a joke?" He asked.

"Of course not. I can email you all the documents right away so you can see for yourself," Declan said.

"I have only one Jason Abbott in my school and I can confidently say for sure that he does not even have the money to pay his outstanding school fees or even pay his rent," the principal said. 

"That is exactly the Jason Abbott that I am talking about," Declan insisted. 

"Can I speak to your boss please?" The principal asked. He was still in doubt. There was probably a mistake somewhere or maybe it was just a prank.

Mr. Abbott rarely spoke to anybody in person. He was a stern man and would not settle for such a basic argument. 

Declan knew this and he knew he needed to have the situation under control.

"I'm sorry but my boss cannot come to the phone now," Declan said. "If you have anything to say, I suggest that you say it directly to me or we will withdraw our sponsorship from your school totally," he added.

The principal was quiet for a while. He looked up at Jason who was standing before him like a statue, still scared about the reputation damning and image destroying accusations that had been leveled against him. Just then, an idea crossed his mind.

"Can I inform you that this Jason Abbott that you say is the sponsor is the one that stole the college funds that went missing?" The principal asked with a smile, with the hope that he had found a good ground to refute what Declan was saying.

Declan was quiet for a while as he seemed to be contemplating what to say.

"Are you sure about these allegations you have leveled against Jason?" Declan asked. 

"Of course. A friend of his caught him and shared the information with us," the principal replied. 

Declan was quiet for a brief moment and the principal thought that it was a moment of victory for him.

"So do we both agree that the boy is poor and a thief too?" He asked Declan.

"Shut up," Declan cautioned him. "Are you stupid?" He asked the principal, who shuddered in fear. "Jason is not poor, and in case you have not noticed, he is the only son and heir of my boss, Mr. Abbott, the owner of the Abbott empire," he stated.

"If it is about his outstanding tuition, all that would be paid in a blink of an eye," Declan said further.

The principal froze at this shocking revelation and looked up at Jason standing before him, who was chickening and puzzled as to what was going on.

"And if you do not want to lose your position as the principal, I suggest you do everything in your power to ensure that Jason is not humiliated in your school ever again," Declan continued. 

"Do you understand me?" Declan thundered.

"Yes sir," the principal replied, trembling with fear. 

"And one more thing," Declan instructed. "No one in your school must know that he is the new college sponsor," he added.

"Of course sir," the principal replied before slamming the telephone back into the receiver, still in shock of what had just transpired. He did not know how to begin to atone for what he had just done to Jason, who coincidentally happened to be a sponsor of his college.