No other student was present.
Dr. Whitmore closed the door.
“Marcus, I want to give you the opportunity to explain what happened without the emotional atmosphere of the classroom.”
Marcus looked at him.
“I already explained it.”
“Then explain it again.”
Marcus did.
He described the incorrect answer key.
His textbook citation.
Mrs. Gallagher’s accusation that he was being argumentative.
Her comment about “special treatment.”
The remark about a school for black kids.
Her order that he stand at the front.
The ruler.
The first strike.
Noah standing up.
Her threat to damage Noah’s grade.
The second strike.
The camera shutter.
Dr. Whitmore listened without interrupting.
When Marcus finished, the principal removed his glasses and polished them slowly.
“Do you understand how serious an accusation of racial discrimination is?”
Marcus stared at him.
“Yes.”
“It can destroy someone’s career.”
Marcus glanced at Mrs. Gallagher.
She looked wounded now.
Fragile.
As if she had been the one standing in front of a class with her hand extended.
“It can also hurt someone,” Marcus said.
Dr. Whitmore replaced his glasses.
“You are sixteen years old.”
“I know.”
“You may interpret things differently than an adult intends them.”
“I know what she said.”
Mrs. Gallagher sighed.
“I told him that if he was so unhappy with the standards of this institution, perhaps another school would be more appropriate.”
Marcus turned toward her.
“That’s not what you said.”
“That was the meaning.”
“No.”
“Marcus,” Dr. Whitmore warned.
She leaned forward.
“He was belligerent.”
“I corrected an answer key.”
“You challenged me in front of the class.”
“Because the answer was wrong.”
Dr. Whitmore raised one hand.
“We’re getting nowhere.”
Marcus looked at him.
“Then call my mother.”
Neither adult responded.
“Call her.”
Mrs. Gallagher shifted in her seat.
Dr. Whitmore opened a folder on his desk.
“I’ve reviewed your disciplinary history.”
Marcus almost laughed.
“My what?”
“Your disciplinary history.”
“I don’t have one.”
Dr. Whitmore slid the folder across the desk.
Three forms were clipped inside.
Marcus read the first.
September 4: argumentative conduct.
The second.
September 9: refusal to comply with classroom instruction.
The third.
September 14: hostile verbal response toward faculty.
All three listed Mrs. Gallagher as the reporting teacher.
Marcus stared at the papers.
He had never seen them before.
“I wasn’t told about these.”
“Teachers are not required to hold a conference for every minor documentation.”
“I didn’t do these things.”