Page 120

A misunderstanding?
Miss Abbot pulls her lips into her mouth and stares down like she wants to murder the carpet.
“Miss Abbot?” The principal nudges her.
Bending her head so her neat dreadlocks skate down her shoulder, Miss Abbot mumbles, “Even though Taliadidpush another student and call them a waste of space and even though that student was very hurt and embarrassed, I shouldn’t have bothered you with such a small matter.”
The principal coughs loudly.
“I apologize.”
Her eyes burn, and I get the feeling that Miss Abbot would skewer all of us in the room if she had a choice.
“Is the other student okay now?”
“Oh, she’s a part of our welfare program.” The principal waves a dismissive hand. “It’s because of generous patrons likeyou,Mr. Sullivan, that people from all walks of life can eventhinkof sending their children here. I assure you, this matter is closed. Done.Finito.”
She brushes her hands like she’s wiping off dirt.
I watch her and something feels… off. This is how I prefer for matters to end and yet, it makes me uneasy.
“I’ll talk to Talia. Make sure this doesn’t happen again,” I say.
“No need. Talia’s a brilliant child. And very, uh, opinionated. All qualities we want to foster here. Not stomp out.” The line is punctuated by an evil eye in Miss Abbot’s direction. “I assure you that we do not believe in punishing children for such small matters. I’m truly sorry if Talia was negatively affected by all this—”
I lift a hand, indicating the principal should stop. I’m afraid if I don’t, she’ll just go on and on and my unease will worsen.
Turning so I’m in Yaya’s sight, I bring her up to speed. “Talia did nothing wrong. Her teacher apologized for punishing her.”
Her expression sobers. “Didn’t Talia call someone a ‘waste of space’?”
“They say it doesn’t matter.”
“Let me guess. The victim wasn’t the child of a billionaire or politician, so this doesn’t need to be a big deal?”
“‘Victim’ seems a bit much for the situation.”
“Would you like it if anyone put their hands on Talia or called her a waste of space?”
“Of course not.”
“So why is it okay for her to do that to someone else?”
Guilt is an unfamiliar feeling, but it’s crawling all over me like black sludge.
Yaya shakes her head. “We should treat everyone with kindness and respect, no matter where they come from.”
I agree.
But I also don’t want Talia to get any flack from school when, by the looks of her a few minutes ago, she’s already having a hard time.
“Mr. Sullivan, you’re pleased with this outcome, yes?”
Yaya arches an eyebrow in a silent ‘what are you going to do’?
Helplessness is another unfamiliar feeling.
At this point, the new-to-me sensations are stacking up one after another.