"That was a pretty uncomfortable," Stef says, "for everyone."

"I'm glad it wasn't a sign of things to come," Lena reflects.

"That's if you don't count that committee meeting," Stef says.

"What committee…?," Lena ponders. "Oh, that one."

- Flashback -

Weeks have passed since Stef and Lena have been in the same room. Aside from a few one-way sightings of the other in the school halls or a cursory wave or head nod of acknowledgement, they have not spoken a word to each other.

Lena and Mike were never formally introduced on that unforgettable afternoon at the coffee shop, but Lena knew – from his and Stef's reactions – who they were to each other. The other Officer Foster – the one frozen in the coffee shop's doorway, not the one holding Lena's hand – left immediately, his demeanor resolute and his temper controlled. He did an about-face, slamming the door behind him. Lena distinctly remembers the sound of the glass plate rattling. Customers turned their heads to look. A grating screech of tires could be heard from the parking lot.

Stef apologized repeatedly and profusely for having to leave "like this" and for putting Lena in the "middle of this" and for how disconcerting "this all must be" and for Lena having to "see all of this". Lena kept telling Stef that it was "okay" and that "she understood" – even though Lena didn't understand exactly what was happening – and to hurry so Stef wouldn't be late picking up Brandon. As she watched Stef leave, Lena was sorry too but for her own careless decisions that lead to this moment.

For weeks since that encounter, Lena laments about how she may have crossed a professional boundary. She knows what she did. The fact that she spends any time at all thinking about a reasonable explanation to give Principal Chapman for meeting with a parent off school grounds and justifying the purpose and nature of their meeting, gives Lena agita. Lena always holds a high moral ground both in thought and by example, but indiscretions such as this leave her in turmoil, questioning her integrity.

When she decides to e-mail the PTA's Community Engagement Committee notification of their next meeting, Lena spends a moment staring at the computer screen adding and erasing Stef's e-mail address from the 'send-to' list. When she finally presses send, Lena knows that she's made the right, principled decision.

"Thank you all for being here this evening," Lena says addressing all the parents at the PTA's Community Engagement Committee meeting. "I'm looking forward to and I am so excited to work with you this year."

Over half of the committee members are seated around the cafeteria table; the committee chair at the head. They all introduce themselves as Lena stands at a flip chart hastily recording everyone's names, their community affiliations, and specialties. She listens carefully for their children's names in case she has to acknowledge the parents of children who are in her class.

Although its Lena's first meeting with this committee, her command of the group and her inherent leadership gives the impression that she has been facilitating this meeting for years. Some parents beam at Lena, drawn in by her confidence, enthusiasm, and energy. Some other parents are stoic, their arms crossed, their brows furrowed, evaluating and judging this new teacher at their school.

"Thank you all for your contributions over the years. This is a great," Lena says as she completes the last note on the flip chart. "This list really demonstrates how much effort you have all put into making partnerships between the community and Public School. I'm really impressed. I will definitely reach out to each of our community partners so we could bring them back this year to supplement our curriculum, to support our children's education, and also to get them involved in the Spring Fair."

Parents nod in agreement, including Stef. Attending her first PTA meeting ever, Stef observes Lena's every gesture with a quiet awe and discreet reverence. She was not expecting to receive Lena's meeting e-vite in her inbox a few weeks ago but, despite her doubts and hesitation, she pressed the "Will Attend" button anyway.

"When I interviewed for this position, and as I embark on the principalship track," Lena continues, "one of the areas that Principal Chapman admits Public School has been slow in addressing is bullying. Although bullying was just considered a right of passage when we were kids, it now has elicited a national movement toward remediation and healing rather than the belief of 'if you ignore it, it will go away'. We are now aware that the effects of bullying are detrimental to the normal development and mental health of our children and, in some cases, have lead to fatal outcomes."

Looks of grave concern are exchanged.

"Principal Chapman challenged me with the task of spearheading an initiative at Public School to recognize and address bullying both from the perspective of the child who's bullied and the child who's bullying. I'm sharing this task with all the PTA committees with the hope that each one will bring something to the table so that we could work collectively to make anti-bullying a seamless effort through all aspects of the school.

"Instead of just pitying the bullied, we should empower them with the courage to seek help. Instead of labeling the bully as the 'bad seed', we should empower him or her also so that they could think about making a different choice. One of the approaches I'd like to take is to introduce the concept of diversity to the student body.

"In addition to all the businesses and organizations you already have contacts with, and have nurtured meaningful relationships with, I would also like for us to reach out to the African-American, Asian and Latina cultural centers in the community, to Jewish and Muslim leaders that promote co-existence, and finally to the LGBTQ center to round things out. I also believe there's a gender-equality grassroots group in the area. I'm looking forward to hearing your ideas – "

"You can't bring that stuff here," a father mumbles.

"Mark, do you have something to say?" Lena asks. "I believe we could speak openly here."

"You can't bring that stuff here. The racial stuff and educating the kids about Mexicans, I understand. That boys and girls are equal, sure. But you can't bring that other stuff here," Mark says more adamantly.

"What specific 'stuff' are you referring to?"

"That whole…..LGBT-LMNOP, stuff," Mark says; another parent chuckles.

Agitated, Stef shifts in her seat.

"I agree," Margaret, another parent, says. "It's just not information I'm ready to discuss with my 1st grader."

"In the past few months since I've been here," Lena says. "I've heard our children, in the school yard and in the halls, use the N-word, the other F-word and effortlessly interchange the word 'gay' with the word 'stupid'. I've heard some of them refer to boys who play with the girls or girl-themed games as 'sissies'."

"My child doesn't use that language," another parent calls out; another parent snickers.

"I find this far from funny," Lena says suppressing the urge to scold. "They already know what's out there. There's nothing more to teach them. By not introducing our children to the full gamut of what diversity is and how it should be valued and respected is doing them a great disservice. We're saying that it's okay to use the bad words – bad words that separate us from and alienate others – but it's not okay to learn the good things about our differences and about what we have in common."

"I don't have anything in common with no person who identifies themselves by the alphabet," Mark says.

"You're way out of line," Stef interjects.

Lena shoots Stef an astonished look.

"And by the way," another parent speaks up, "they are not 'our' children; they are not 'your' children. That is my 2nd and 3rd grader, and Margaret's 1st grader, and Mark's 4th grader that you're talking about. If you have a child that goes to this school, then you could share all the hippy-dippy crap that you want. But you don't. We should have a say in what we want our kids to learn and how we want them to learn it."