Kevin Price sat in the hallway anxiously twiddling his thumbs. He was looking around nervously, never thinking he'd ever have to be in that exact spot in his life. Minutes later, an anxious Connor McKinley, Kevin's husband, came rushing down the hall.
"What happened?" Connor asked frantically, taking a seat next to Kevin.
"I have no clue. You know as much as I do. The school called and just said we had to have a meeting about Mangeni."
Mangeni McKinley-Price was their adopted daughter from Uganda, and was their absolute pride and joy. She was friendly and energetic, and seemingly perfect. Neither Kevin nor Connor could figure out any reason they'd be called in to the school principal's office.
"Mr. Price? Mr. McKinley?" the receptionist said, poking her head out the door. "The principal is ready. Step inside, please."
Connor and Kevin turned to each other, taking a deep breath and standing up. They proceeded inside the office, and walked into the next room. The principal, a balding middle-aged man with a kind face, was sitting at his desk, while Mangeni sat in the corner, looking down at her lap. Next to her was a little boy, about the same age, who too avoided eye contact with the other people in the room. A young husband and wife were sitting in front of the desk, with two empty seats for Connor and Kevin.
"Ah yes. Mr. Price and Mr. McKinley. Won't you sit down?"
Kevin and Connor were zoned out, staring at their daughter. They couldn't begin to imagine what trouble Mangeni was capable of getting into.
"Ahem," the principal politely mumbled. Kevin and Connor shot their direction back to the principal and took a seat.
"Now… gentlemen. I do believe you've met the Robinsons."
"Oh! Yes!" Kevin cheerfully greeted. "Hello Mrs. Robinson. Mr. Robinson."
"Hello, Kevin," the woman greeted softly. "Connor." Connor nodded his head to her.
"Now," the principal began, folding his hands on the desk in front of him. "I'm glad you were able to all make it this afternoon. It seems there was a slight incident with Mangeni and Timmy today on the playground."
Both couples began looking at one another.
"My Timmy?" Mr. Robinson spoke up. "You must be mistaken."
"Yeah, our Mangeni would NEVER call children names," Connor said. "She knows better."
"I'm afraid it was a bigger incident than that, Mr. McKinley," the principal said, shaking his head. "It would appear your daughter struck Timmy."
Kevin and Connor turned pale. All they could do was stare at the principal's face. Suddenly, Kevin snapped his head towards Mangeni.
"Mangeni McKinley-Price," he said firmly. "Is this true?"
"He was making fun of me!" Mangeni suddenly said looking up, her eyes red and stained with angry tears.
"Timmy?" the principal said. "Is THAT true?"
"Mangeni's weird," he grumbled. "She has two daddies and no mom."
The color returned to Kevin and Connor's faces, but this time a burning red. They slowly sunk down in their chairs.
"Timothy!" Mrs. Robinson snapped. "We do NOT speak like that. Mangeni is a very normal little girl with a very normal life. It doesn't matter if she has a mommy or not. We treat others the way we would like to be treated. Do you understand?"
The little boy was silent.
"I'm so sorry," Mrs. Robinson whispered to Kevin and Connor, visibly embarrassed. "I swear to God we don't teach our children to be homophobic. We try and teach them to be accepting of everyone but sometimes-"
"It's ok, Mrs. Robinson," Kevin said with a chuckle. "We understand."
"I'm really sorry I hit Timmy," Mangeni suddenly spoke up. "But… he was making me feel really bad and he wouldn't go away."
"She should be expelled," Timmy hissed.
"No one's being expelled," the principal said. "Mangeni, I'm very sorry to hear Timmy was mean to you. But I'm also glad you understand that hitting people is wrong. Promise me you'll never do it again?"
"Yes, sir," Mangeni whimpered.
"And Timmy, you should know better than to make fun of others for ANY reason. I think you owe Mangeni an apology."
"Sorry," Timmy moaned.
"Well… I don't think this requires any more attention. I'm letting both of them off with a warning… but if this happens again, the consequences will be a lot more serious."
"Well thank you very much," Connor said, standing up. "We promise you this will never happen again." The two couples said goodbye to each other and parted ways with their respective children.
The car ride home was a silent one. Kevin drove as Connor mulled over the situation in his head. Mangeni was still silent in the back seat.
"So… do we punish her?" Connor asked softly to Kevin, trying not to let Mangeni hear.
"Mangeni's never done anything bad in her life," Kevin whispered back. "She's never even talked back to us or anything. And now she went and hit another kid."
"Well, her intentions were good… I guess."
"It doesn't matter. She needs to be taught that hitting others is wrong. I think… I think we need to think of a punishment."
Connor sighed deeply. "I suppose you're right."
Just then, the two men heard their daughter silently sobbing in the back seat.
"Mangeni?" Connor asked, turning in his seat. "Honey, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"
"I didn't mean to hit Timmy!" she wailed. "He was being so mean to me and he was making me feel bad! He wouldn't go away so I had to hit him!"
"Mangeni, I know that it can make you feel bad when you're made fun of for something, but violence is NEVER the answer. You could have seriously hurt Timmy, which could have gotten you in a lot of trouble."
"I know, Papa," Mangeni whispered. "I'm really really sorry."
"Well, I'm glad you understand what you did is wrong. But I'm afraid we're gonna have to-"
"No, Connor," Kevin suddenly spoke up. "Forget it."
"What?" Connor asked, turning back to Kevin.
"I mean… I think she's learned her lesson. Besides, the principal let her off with a warning… why don't we too?"
"Are you sure?"
"Look at her, Connor. She seems really sorry."
Connor thought it over for a second, and then turned back to Mangeni. "Sweetheart, your principal let you off with a warning, and daddy and I are going to also. That means we're not gonna punish you. But if we hear about this happening again, you're gonna be in a lot of trouble. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Papa," Mangeni whimpered.
Connor smiled and reached back to stroke Mangeni's hair. "Daddy and and I love you so much, ok? And we're really sorry Timmy was mean to you."
"Thanks, Papa," Mangeni said, wiping a tear off of her face. "I love you too."
Connor sighed contentedly and faced front in the car again.
"Well well," Kevin said with a smirk. "Look at you being all authoritative. I guess there's still some district leader left in you."
"Guess so," Connor said with a laugh.