MATT:How do you know for sure?
KAI:I don’t care. He lied about me.
MATT:An eye for an eye will leave the whole world blind.
KAI:Are you seriously quoting the Bible at me?
MATT:No, it’s Mahatma Gandhi.
KAI:I’m not launching a campaign for India’s independence from British rule. I’m just trying to get one teacher off my back at school.
MATT:You just googled Gandhi, didn’t you?
KAI:Yes, I did.
MATT:There’s still time to tell your mum the truth.
KAI:Which is?
MATT:You didn’t swear directly at Mr. Ndour. And your chair fell over when you stood up to leave the classroom. You don’t know why he lied about it. But you have no reason to think he was being homophobic.
Later That Night: Ear to the Door—Mum’s Bedroom
I tiptoe toward
Mum’s closed bedroom door.
I press my ear to it.
Mum speaks in Greek
but too quiet and quick
for me to catch
most of what she says.
The few words I hear
are swear words.
I hope her swearing
is about Mr. Ndour
and not me.
I knock.
I hear footsteps.
Mum opens the door
with her phone
still at her ear.
“I’ll call you back, Estélla.”
