Ben Doggett, recent recipient of the School Administrator of the Year award, is a man of high character and morals. Admired by his peers, honored by his superiors, and loved by everyone in Midland, Texas, Ben is a humble family man who always puts others before himself. But with the simple click of a mouse, all of that is about to change. After a message pops up on his MacBook and asks if Ben would like to spin the wheel on an online gaming site, Ben naively hovers his mouse over "OK" and clicks. Six weeks later, Ben is thousands of dollars in debt. Prisoner to his newfound gambling addiction and the passionate affections of his secretary, Ben knows his life is taking a fast, steep fall. Unfortunately, every time he thinks he has found a way out of the madness, the hole he has dug for himself and his family grows deeper. Desperate for a solution, Ben makes another fateful decision that puts not only his life in danger, but also the lives of those who love him. An Absence of Principal is a tale of hope, redemption, forgiveness, and one man's desperate attempt to return to the life he once loved-before it is lost forever.

An Absence of Principal

By Jimmy Patterson Tom S. Morgan

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2012 Jimmy Patterson and Tom S. Morgan
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4759-3946-0

Chapter One

Six weeks later

MAY 24, 2003

NAME: Ben41 PASSWORD: AnteUp

WAGER: $1,000.00 Dealer: Hit or hold?

Ben41: Hit me. Dealer: 5 of clubs. 16 showing. Hit or hold? Ben41: Hit me. Double or nothing. Dealer: 6 of Diamonds. Bust. Hand over. System Administrator: Please submit $1,000.00 before continuing to play Jack-A-Diamonds 21.

Ben clicked cancel. He had already tried to escape the JackADiamonds site before tabbing out but his computer froze up, forcing him to log back in and pay his mounting debt before he could continue with another hand. In the last week he figured he had lost at least three thousand dollars at the JackADiamond site and Bookemdano.com. Ben re-logged in and returned to play some more. He paid up his losses and refigured just how much more he could lose before the family finances were a total shambles.

The first bell of the morning rang and Sam Houston Elementary was filled within moments. The morning bell was Ben's cue to step outside and greet the little tykes as they rumbled down the hallways, screaming and shouting and giving him a splitting headache to go with his morning chills and the cold sweats, the two most prominent symptoms that came with losing four figures in a single online casino roll of the virtual dice.

"Hi, Mr. Doggett!" It was Margaret Camby, a precocious second grader offering her usual delightful greeting. Margaret had no idea that her cheery attitude was especially irritating to the principal this morning as she bounded off to her homeroom class.

Timothy Turner, a nearly college-ready fourth grader, strolled past Doggett and shook his hand, just as he did every morning. "Good morning, Mr. Doggett, sir."

"Morning, Timothy. You get all your homework done last night?" the principal returned the conversation.

"Yes, sir! Would you like to see it?"

"No, no, I believe you," Doggett said. "Just make sure you get it in to your teacher on time."

"Yes, sir, Mr. Doggett. Have a good day, sir," the uber-brilliant young boy said.

Doggett pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his brow, which was shiny with his self-made morning layer of perspiration by now. His heart was racing and it felt every bit like the Monday morning it was. The second bell bored through every inch of Doggett's skull as his morning hallway principal's smile was replaced with the look of dread that told the real story of his mood. Fortunately the last few students had slipped into their classrooms for the day and Doggett would no longer have to paste on the award-winning look of joy he could fake so well.

"Teachers and students, good Monday morning. It's a good day to be a Stephen F. Austin Patriot!" Doggett announced with his trademark glee, whether he actually possessed it or not. "We have an exciting week coming up, boys and girls, as we prepare for this year's Field Day Competition and the end of school for another year. If you will all stand now for the Pledge of Allegiance and the Pledge to the Texas Flag ..."

After the morning's patriotic duties were over, Doggett clicked off the microphone and fell back into his seat. His fondness for Internet gaming was as bad as any junkie or meth-head looking for his next high. He felt the rush overtake him every time he booted up and logged on.

But the biggest problem was this: Ben's unauthorized virtual recesses were slowly bankrupting his family, destroying his kids' chances at college, and dashing any hopes his wife would have for going on their Alaskan cruise to celebrate the magical 25th anniversary they'd been working toward for so long. But it was all going to be OK. Because none of them knew about his little problem. Yet. And he was going to find a way to fix it all before it got too far out of hand.

Ben Doggett, family man and education professional, hid his addiction well. It helped that it was his responsibility to keep track of the family finances. That alone made it easier to gloss over any big deductions and blame them on bills or golf outings or overages on trips taken on behalf of the school system. The state had cut funding to so many programs there was really no telling how many times Doggett had to dip into his own pocket to pay for a DVD series, or a carton of construction paper or motivational coffee mugs for his staff of World's Greatest Teachers. Some months, Ben knew, he could just blame the loss of so much of the family's money on being an educator in today's world. It may even work the first time.

Doggett sat at his desk with his head buried in his hands. It was the closest he had come to tears since his expensive habit had taken hold of him several weeks earlier. The fleeting feelings of depression that overcame him so soon after the highs he experienced were not right, he knew that. He knew somehow he would have to find another way to fund, as he called it, his "hobby."

There was a knock at his office door. It opened quickly and in stepped Shanna, Doggett's secretary, someone who in the last few weeks had become much closer. She cozied up to her boss, snuggled him and finally noticed he was shaking.

"What's wrong, Ben?" she said.

"Problems at home. It's nothing," he said. "I'll be fine."

Doggett loved the feel of the young woman in his arms but often felt a pain inside knowing that he was so far into not only his online problem but to top it off, his illicit little affair. It was starting to dawn on him that there was nothing he could do to get out of either situation without a boatload of collateral damage somewhere.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I just hate it when you're not all smileys first thing on a Monday morning," Shanna said.

She grabbed him and kissed him and Doggett took advantage of the interlude for several moments before nudging her away.

"I can't do this right now. I have a few things I need to get done. Could you be a big help to me and print out the teacher reports? I need to focus today," Doggett said. It was a bit more assertive than normal for him. Shanna had never been on the receiving end of a `no' from Doggett. He was usually putty in her arms.

Doggett's redirecting of the conversation was an excuse just to get the young woman out of the office so he could refocus his energies on his personal well-being and on the work at hand, at least for the moment. He finally picked up the phone to call his wife. Her voice always comforted him; always made him feel human again, not quite so much the creep that he had recently become as he lied his way through his life with her.

"Good morning, honey. Just wanted to call and tell you I love you," Doggett squirmed. He wiped a trickling bead of sweat from his forehead. "How `bout let's have us a big family dinner tonight and get to know each other again. Seems like work has gotten the best of me lately. I just wanna make it up to you."

Angela Doggett embraced the moment and made him feel like a good husband again. He promised her he'd be home by six and swore his undying love for her. Again.

"I'll see you tonight, sweetheart. You're the best," Doggett said. He hung up the phone and realized again what a despicable jerk he was. Cheater. Internet gambling addict. Neglectful father. Selfish. Self-centered. He could normally sit and think of scores of words that ate into his self-respect when he sank this low. How far the mighty had fallen.

Angela made him feel so worthy. Actually the feeling he had was more relief than anything now that he knew that she wasn't wise to...