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“What did he say?” asked the principal. Jethro blushed a deep color and stepped closer to the man.

“May I whisper it to you, sir?”

“It must be pretty awful if you need to do that,” said the old man. “Please. Whisper it to me.”

“It’d be disrespectful to repeat it in front of the ladies. Even his own mama.” Jethro leaned forward, eye-to-eye with a grown man. He cupped his hands around his mouth and whispered to him. The man’s lips tightened, his face a flush of embarrassment and anger.

“It wasn’t nothin’,” said the boy. “Ain’t no big deal.”

“You’re expelled until further notice,” said the man, then turning to his mother continued. “I’m afraid you will be placed on leave until a full investigation is done.”

“You can’t!” yelled the woman.

“I can, I will, and I just did. There is no place for behavior like your son’s in my school or any school in this district. And it’s very clear that you condone this behavior and language at home. I will not tolerate it here. Pack your personal belongings.”

“It don’t change what he is,” sneered the boy.

“One day, you will meet this young man when you are both fully grown. I suspect that Jethro will be in a better position to put you in your place then and ensure you never use that language again. For now, you will continue to develop your ill behaviors and ignorance in the comfort of your home.”

Twenty minutes later the boy and his mother were gone. The Lyons family still stood in the office, the other staff members looking at them with sympathy. The school had not hired the woman. The district had. She would be denied employment in any school going forward.

“I’m very sorry, Coleman, Ashley,” he said nodding at the couple, then at the grandparents. “You know this isn’t how I run my school.”

“We know, Mel. It’s why we came down here. Jethro’s a good boy,” said Coleman.

“He is that,” smirked Mel. “Don’t tell anyone, but I’ve been hoping someone would put that boy in his place. I couldn’t prove his mama was feeding him that attitude but it sure looked like it today.”

“Well, thank you for calling us,” said Coleman, shaking his hand.

“One more thing,” said Mel. “Jethro finished his testing for honors classes. Scored second highest in the school. You got yourself a champion there.”

No one said much on the way home from school. Sandwiched between his grandparents, his grandmother held his hand, rubbing the swollen knuckle.

“We’ll put some ice on it when we get home,” she said. He nodded.

“I’m fine, Grandma.”

“You did the right thing, Jethro,” said his grandfather.

“I know, sir. I just don’t understand why he had to be so mean. I didn’t do anything to him. What he said about Melissa was terrible. She cried all through class.”

“Did the teacher report him?” asked his mother.

“Yes, ma’am. That’s when he confronted me and I busted his nose. Felt it break.”

“I’m sure you did,” grinned his father. He took a deep breath and then sighed. “There will always be ignorance, Jethro. You can’t outrun it. Sometimes, you can’t even fight it. You did what felt right to you and I will never be angry about that.”

Jethro became a bit of a hero at school after that. Even the older kids wanted to be his friend. By the time he was a senior in high school, he was an all-state athlete in football and track and field.

“You’ve got some fine offers,” said his father. His grandfather had died the year before and his grandmother wasn’t well.

“Who would help you?” said Jethro. “I can’t leave y’all to fend for yourselves. It’s not right. I’ll try to go to a community college locally.”

“No, you will not,” said his mother firmly. “You will accept the best offer for you and your future. Whatever it is, wherever it is, we’ll support you.”

“We’re gonna hire a couple of boys to help in the mornings and afternoons,” said his father.

“Dad, you can’t afford to do that,” said Jethro.