"He was like that all day," Punky told Henry over a plate of spaghetti. "Mike finally had enough and sent Todd to the principal's office. After I finished up at my locker, I went back to say good-bye to Mike, and he looked real tired, but it wasn't a sleepy kind of tired. It was more like a hurt kind of tired. Do you think Todd hurt Mike's feelings by saying all those mean things?"
Henry swallowed before answering his foster daughter. "It's possible, Punky. Mike has feelings just like anyone else. And even though you and I know that people that look like Mike, Cherie, and Mrs. Johnson are nice, and that it's okay to be friends with them, there are other people, like Todd, that think differently. For whatever reason, some people see no reason to be nice to people that don't look like them."
"But Mike hasn't done anything to Todd. He doesn't have to think that about Mike."
"Punky, come here." Henry held his arms out to his foster daughter, and the child stood and walked over to him. She sat on his lap. "I know Mike hasn't done anything wrong. I also know how much you love Mike, and that it hurts you to think of him hurting. But this is an important lesson that you need to learn. Todd was made to say those words by a terrible thing called prejudice."
"What's that? Is it catchy?" Punky gasped. "Should we take Brandon to get a shot?"
Her golden retriever raised his head from his bowl at the word "shot", then quickly dashed through the dog door into the living room.
The old man smiled sadly. "No. Being prejudiced means that you assume you're better than anyone that doesn't look, act, or think the same way you do. And as sad as it is to say, when a person is taught to believe such a terrible lie, it's very nearly impossible to convince them to believe otherwise."
Punky was quiet for a moment. "Henry, I don't think I'm hungry anymore. I'm going to go to my room and do the rest of my homework."
"Are you sure you don't want to talk about this anymore?"
The little girl shook her head negatively. "Talking and thinking about it only make me want to cry. And I need to be able to see what I'm writing."
Once settled on the floor of her bedroom, Punky tried to concentrate on her math assignment, but her mind kept wandering. All she could think about was the look on Mike's face when school let out that afternoon. Punky finally decided that she could no longer focus on her homework, and she turned in her notebook to a blank sheet of paper. She began to write a letter.
Dear Mike, I just wanted to let you know that...
...I think it was really rotten of Todd to say all those things to you. I'm sorry if he hurt your feelings, and I wish I knew how to fix it. Just remember that I'll always care about you, no matter what other people say, or how they treat you. Your friend, Punky.
The first bell rang, and as his students began to trickle in, Mike smiled as he placed the note under his gradebook.
"All right, gang, that's the lunch bell. When you come back, be prepared to go over your science homework. Punky, could you stay behind for a moment? I won't keep you long."
Punky's friends said they'd wait for her by their lockers. She watched them leave, then looked up at her teacher. "What's wrong, Mike?"
He sat on top of the desk beside Punky. "I really appreciated your note of encouragement this morning. It meant a lot to me, Punky; thank you. And even though there's no way you can fix things, you have helped me to feel better."
Punky smiled as she wrapped her arms around Mike's neck. "Good, I'm glad."
"You'd better get going. Your friends are waiting, and I'm expecting a visitor."
"Okay, Mike. I'll see you in a little while." As Punky left the room, she saw Todd talking to her friends, and Cherie looked upset. As she started to join them, she saw a man go into the classroom.
"Hi, guys, what's going on? What are you talking about?"
Margaux glared at Todd as she responded, "Nothing, Punky. Todd was just leaving."
"Hey, I can stand here for as long as I want, and I can say anything I want."
"What exactly did you say?" Punky asked suspiciously.
"My shoes need to be tied, but this little freak of nature won't touch them." Todd pointed at Cherie, who wiped away a tear.
Allen grabbed Todd's arm and turned him so that the two boys were facing each other. "Why don't you learn to tie your own shoes, bozo?"
Todd's eyes narrowed, and gathering his fingers into a fist, he put his hand up, just inches away from Allen's nose.
"Bye!" Grabbing his lunchbox, Allen ran off in the direction of the cafeteria.
"You heard what Mike said yesterday!" Margaux exclaimed. "Name-calling isn't nice. You need to take back what you just called Cherie."
"And if I don't, what are you going to do about it, Goldilocks?"
"Peasant!" Margaux blurted out as she turned and walked away.
Punky took Cherie by the hand and began pulling her towards the girls' restroom. "Come on, Cherie. Let's go get cleaned up."
Todd rolled his eyes, then headed to his own locker to retrieve his lunchbox. He closed his locker, rounded the corner, and saw his father leaving Mike's classroom.