Thoughts That Count
Episode 4 Part 4
Ezra
I came into Aria's first hour class the next morning and just launched into my agenda.
"I'm wondering. Is anyone else bothered by Atticus's hypocrisy at the end of the novel?" I didn't even bother to give them time to answer, "No? Well, he's Mr. Due Process when it comes to Tom Robinson, then as soon as Bob Ewell gets stabbed, he's willing to buy into the sheriff's cover up."
"He was protecting Boo Radley," Spencer blurted out.
"Protecting him?" I spat back, " From-from what? The justice system? Atticus is an officer of the court and he's conspiring to… cover up a crime? And he's willing to let his own son take the fall for something that Boo Radley did?" I threw back in her face, uncaring of the fact that she didn't deserve it. I reserved the right to be hard on my students if I saw fit.
"It was a trade," Aria threw out.
I turned to her, depositing my hands in my pockets, "What was a trade?" "Mr. Ewell would have killed those kids. Boo saved them… And Atticus was still feeling guilty over Tom Robinson, so he offered Jem to take Boo's place. Almost like a sacrifice."
"Oh, very noble," I said, almost mockingly. Spencer may not deserve it, but Aria did. We both knew we weren't talking about Atticus's hypocrisy. "Too bad Jem was unconscious. You think he might have had a different opinion?"
"No. Jem would have said yes," she snapped back without a beat.
"You're sure about that?" I tested her again, her stubbornness.
"He was brought up right."
A tense anger filled silence drifted between us and I could tell all eyes were scrutinizing us. The heaviness was apparent to more than just me and her. That was going to be a problem.
A boy in the back of the class cleared his throat.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Sperling. Do you have something to add to the discussion? Aside from flem," I snapped.
"Just… his dad was a lawyer. He could get the kid off," he paused, "Um, being brought up right had nothing to do with it."
"Really? The Whole book is about what shapes us into adults. Or haven't you been paying attention?" I questioned him.
"No, No, I was just saying-"
"You were just saying that Aria made an attempt to understand this book, and you haven't," I cut him off. If Aria wanted to be treated like a child, I'd show her what it felt like. This is what it meant to be a student.
"No, I-I wasn't saying that Mr. Fitz," He said in a disheveled tone.
His broken posture finally got to me. I was chewing him out for… what?
"Sorry. What were you trying to say?"
"It'd probably be easier for Atticus to get the kid off than… to get Boo off. That's all," He explained, then proceeded to stare at his hands in his lap.
Without another word I walked back to my desk and assigned book work for the rest of the period.
What the hell was I doing?