I opened my mouth.
Ms. Keene beat me to it.
“Then we’ll address that internally.”
Her tone was final.
Mr. Vale said, “A formal note should still be placed in file.”
She looked at him.
“What file?”
He blinked.
“The staff review file.”
Ms. Keene leaned back.
“For a teacher who identified unsafe equipment, used personal time, and acted without personal gain to protect a student after repeated system delays?”
Mr. Vale said nothing.
She kept going.
“I can counsel him on procedure. I will not memorialize compassion like misconduct.”
It was the strongest sentence I had ever heard her say.
He gathered his papers.
The meeting ended.
When we stepped into the hall, students were still there.
Not crowding.
Not gawking.
Just pretending very badly not to wait.
Tyler stood by the trophy case.
Ava leaned against the bulletin board.
Jordan and Emily hovered near the water fountain.
Mason rolled forward in the repaired chair because, for the moment, nobody stopped him.
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