There was something familiar about him.
Not his face.
His voice.
She had heard that voice before.
Then she remembered.
A voicemail on her mother’s phone months earlier.
Her mother had listened to it in the kitchen, then deleted it immediately.
A man’s voice saying, “Tell him to stop talking.”
Ava stared at Mr. Mercer.
He noticed.
“What?”
Before she could answer, her mother rushed into the office.
She saw Mr. Mercer.
Stopped.
All the color left her face.
The principal stood.
“Mrs. Taylor?”
Ava’s mother whispered one word.
“You.”
Ryan looked at his father.
Ava’s stomach dropped.
Mr. Mercer slowly stood.
“This has nothing to do with the children.”
Ava’s mother looked at her daughter’s wet uniform.
Then at Ryan.
“No.”
Her voice changed.
“I think it does now.”
And for the first time, Ava realized the bullying might have started long before Ryan ever poured milk over her head. 👇
Ava’s mother did not sit down. She stood between her daughter and Mr. Mercer, one hand still gripping the strap of her purse.
