Laverne Jenness

Laverne Jenness was the principal at Nicolae Carpathia High School. She served as the school principal until her death in the planetary earthquake. In the dramatic audio presentation, she is the main antagonist in volume 2 and a supporting antagonist in volume 3.

Books[]

Nicolae High: The Young Trib Force Goes Back to School[]

During the assembly on the first day of school, Laverne Jenness announced that the school board nearly unanimously decided to change the high school from Prospect High to Nicolae High. She also said that they have also changed the mascot from a knight, a type of warrior which she said has long been an offensive mascot, to the doves.

She also proscribed any advocating for the religious explanation for the vanishings on the pretense of respecting separation of church and state. Despite losing several extended family members whose closes left behind relatives told them that some of them had predicted the disappearances, she says that school is the wrong venue to discuss them. She also said during that speech that she emphatically does not believe the religious explanation for the disappearances. Judd Thompson Jr. publicly objected to this proscription saying that it only selectively applies to a set of views, but Mrs. Jenness said that it is not a freedom-of-speech issue but separation-of-church-and-state issue.

The Underground: The Young Trib Force Fights Back[]

Laverne Jenness emerges as a major antagonist when she tries to thwart the unauthorized distribution of The Underground newspaper, a periodical written by members of the Young Tribulation that talks about Bible prophecy and salvation. She prohibits anyone from possessing a copy of the newspaper under penalty of expulsion and even offers a reward for information that leads to the identification of the perpetrators. Increased security and locker searches were implemented to stop the dissemination of The Underground.

After the distribution of the third issue of The Underground where the Young Tribulation Force broke into the school on early Friday morning to slip it into the lockers of students, Vicki was called into the Principal's office that day. For that issue, the Young Tribulation Force talked about the Global Community's treaty with Israel that was to be signed on Monday as that treaty marked the start of the seven year Tribulation. Principal Jenness and Coach Handlesman said that they saw Vicki pull a fire alarm during school hours. Vicki did admit to pulling the fire alarm, and Mrs. Jenness said that they are willing to overlook a prank like that because the distribution of a subversive newspaper is more egregious and cannot be disregarded. Vicki, however, refuse to confess that she did break into the school since she knew that it was impossible for them to have seen her face with the security cameras the night before. Shelly's mother had also implicated Vicki to The Underground, but she did not have any evidence that Vicki was involved in its publication and distribution.

During that encounter, Mrs. Jenness generally played the good cop who portrayed Vicki was a misguided patsy who was swayed to do something for an allegedly noble cause. This attitude offended Vicki since it made her appear that she had no agency or competence to orchestrate and contribute to a newspaper (as Vicki originally proposed the idea of an underground newspaper to Judd). Principal Jenness said that if she cooperated and told the administration who was involved in the paper, Vicki would be treated leniently. Jenness told Vicki that they did not want to punish her but figure out who are the perpetrators. Handlesman instead said that if Vicki did not cooperate she would go with the Global Community guards. Jenness dismissed Vicki from the meeting and told her that she would return tomorrow with her parents. Despite Jenness' superficially benign demeanor, after the school day, she alerted Global Community guard to follow Vicki as soon as she left the school.

Busted!: The Young Trib Force Faces Pressure[]

In a "hearing" to determine Vicki's fate, Principal Jenness, Coach Handlesman, and Mrs. Waltonen testified against Vicki Byrne to Global Community social worker Candace Goodwin. Vicki told her story of why she did not have any relatives that could take care of her, including how her parents became Christians and how a video of a pastor (whom she left unnamed) who predicted the Rapture and gave directions on how to have a relationship with God. Vicki repeated a summary of the pastor's message in the hearing: "He said that we are all sinners, that we deserve God's judgment, but that Jesus offers us forgiveness." When Principal Jenness heard that she said to Candace Goodwin that they really did not need to hear that, but Goodwin responded that "it's good to know motivation". In contrast, Mrs. Waltonen was momentarily interested.

Since Shelly and her mother snitched on Vicki Byrne for her involvement in the composition and distribution of The Underground, Vicki was sent to Northside Detention Center for refusing to name her accomplices. Vicki would have been sent to a group home called the Haven if she cooperated because she no longer had legal guardians as her parents were raptured. After a few days at Northside, she adopted by the Stein family.

Vicki was sent back to Northside Detention Center after she tried to break in to Judd Thompson Jr.'s home in order to hide and destroy evidence of his involvement in the Underground as she had tripped a silent alarm as she entered through a window.

Mrs. Jenness told all students to report to the auditorium to watch a recording of the signing ceremony of the treaty between Israel and the Global Community. After the presentation of the ceremony, one student inquired about seeing the report of some rabbi. Mrs. Jenness replied that it was canceled due to "inappropriate content".

Death Strike: The Young Trib Force Faces War[]

One the first day of the new school year, she called Judd Thompson Jr., who was in his senior year, to her office. Principal Jenness menacingly told him that Coach Handlesman, who took the blame the production and distribution of the Underground, is "continuing his reeducation with the Global Community" and that Judd should listen at the assembly because the new directives from the Global Community apply doubly to him. (Although Coach Handlesman appeared to oppose vehemently The Young Tribulation Force, he was secretly a believer who used his position to try to protect The Young Tribulation Force from greater troubles.) Principal Jenness said that since Coach Handlesman was supposedly behind the production of the Underground, she would expect that the problem of the Underground would no longer appear at the school. For the new school year, Nicolae Carpathia High School had more security personnel and more cameras in the hallways. During the assembly, she announced that there would be a zero-tolerance policy for those trying to impose their beliefs on others as violators would face quick and severe punishment. Students would be expelled and hopes for high education lost. She also threatened that those involved in divisive activity like last year may be sent to a Global Community reeducation facility.

In a move to promote "school unity", Mrs. Jenness introduced the new policy of school uniforms. For the shirt and top, the left shoulder would have a dove, the school's mascot emblazoned on it. Mrs. Jenness help up a similar shirt that had a huge red X where the dove would be. That shirt would be for those who did not want to wear the dove symbol.

Mrs. Jenness told Bruce Barnes, who adopted Janie McCanyon from Northside Detention Center, that Janie would be expelled and sent back to Northside because the school had found drugs hidden in her locker.

After Judd was the salutatorian at the end of his senior year, Principal Jenness reviewed the speech that Judd submitted to her. Judd's original draft was thirteen pages, single-spaced, but he submitted a version that was five pages long. Still, Mrs. Jenness told Judd to excise the speech and wanted the speech bowdlerized, free of any mentions of God, the disappearances being a "wake-up call", and no religious content. Judd should not offend the special guests there, as it was rumored that Leon Fortunato would show up, which he did. Instead, Judd should just focus on the school and what he had learned there.

Principal Jenness was dismayed when Judd delivered his salutatorian speech that deviated from the script that she reviewed. When it became clear that the speech was subversive as Judd took credit for the creation and distribution of the Underground and talked about Bible prophecy and Christian salvation, Mrs. Jenness yelled for someone turn Judd's microphone off and frantically kept shouting as Judd was imploring others to pray for forgiveness and to believe that Jesus rose from the dead. However, the Young Tribulation Force altered the stage so that only cutting the cord to the speakers would cut Judd off. For the speech, Judd was expelled and given no credit for his tenure at Prospect/Nicolae Carpathia High School.

Earthquake!: The Young Trib Force Faces Disaster[]

Laverne Jenness finally caught Vicki Byrne distributing copies of The Underground on Nicolae Carpathia High School in the lockers in the gymnasium. It was the issue of The Underground that discussed the upcoming global earthquake that is the opening of the seventh seal. Mrs. Jenness grabbed Vicki's duffel bag and it contained copies of The Underground. Principal Jenness then had a guard from the Global Community come to pick up the papers that were placed in the lockers. After the copies were collected and bundled, Principal Jenness ordered that they were to be burned. Mrs. Jenness phoned the Global Community and she refused someone to pick Vicki up but rather she would turn Vicki over to the Global Community herself.

As Mrs. Jenness drives Vicki Byrne on a bridge to a Global Community jail, the Wrath Of The Lamb earthquake starts. The bridge is destroyed, and the car Vicki was in is carried into a mud-flow that leads into a huge hole. As this happens, Vicki tries to preach to the principal about Jesus Christ, but a fallen tree trunk crushes the principal. Vicki is able to escape, but the car and the fallen tree trunk both fall into the deep hole.

It is unknown if Mrs. Jenness believed in Christ minutes before she died, like Uncle André did, but it is possible. If she did, the authors may depict her receiving a reward from Jesus during the Glorious Appearing, most likely to the astonishment of Vicki and the Young Tribulation Force. But none of the saved faculty, such as Coach Handlesman and Mrs. Waltonen, appeared in Triumphant Return, so her absence there indicates nothing.

The Showdown: Behind Enemy Lines[]

After the previous book, Joyce was making a rumor that Vicki killed Mrs. Jenness.

Trivia[]

Mrs. Jenness's first appearance is in book 5.
Mrs. Jenness is the only staff member from Nicolae Carpathia High School that is confirmed to have died.
The hole Mrs. Jenness fell into when she died is the same hole that Judd Thompson Jr. fell into in Judgment Day: Into Raging Waters. However, he survives the fall and crawls onto shore, which only leads into a dark forest.
Marjorie Amherst, the school's valedictorian, said that she was friends with Mrs. Jenness while Marjorie was in the custody of the Young Tribulation Force in the abandoned schoolhouse hideout.
Mrs. Jenness interacted with all four original members of the Young Tribulation Force.
Jenness had a vendetta against Vicki Byrne because of her suspicions of Vicki's involvement with the Underground and her outspoken statements about religious discussions.

Appearances[]

Left Behind: The Kids

5. Nicolae High (first appearance)
6. The Underground
7. Busted!
8. Death Strike
10. On the Run
11. Into the Storm
12. Earthquake! (last appearance, death)

Mentions[]