“Why?”
“He started all this.”
“I know.”
“Then why defend him?”
Kayla shook her head.
“I’m not defending him.”
“I’m telling you humiliating somebody isn’t suddenly good because you picked somebody I dislike.”
The jokes stopped.
Cole heard about that too.
He did not thank her.
Kayla did not care.
Two weeks before graduation, Cole requested a mediated meeting through school counseling.
Kayla refused.
Three days later, she changed her mind.
There was one question she wanted answered.
They met after school with counselor Rachel Fields sitting near the door.
Cole wore jeans and a plain gray shirt instead of his varsity jacket.
Without the jacket, basketball teammates, bleachers, or crowd, he looked younger.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
Kayla waited.
“For punching me?”
“For all of it.”
Kayla crossed her arms.
“Then tell me why.”
Cole stared at the table.
He said Kayla bothered him from the beginning because she arrived senior year and immediately received attention.
Fellowship.
Journalism.
Awards.
Teachers praising her.
College acceptance.
Kayla listened.
“You thought I got those because I’m Black.”
Cole looked down.
“At first.”
“And after you learned my grades?”
He hesitated.
“I found other reasons.”
Kayla almost laughed.
“At least that’s honest.”
Cole nodded.
He explained that the more evidence appeared showing Kayla had earned opportunities, the more defensive he became.
Admitting she deserved them meant admitting the original assumption had been wrong.
Instead of changing the assumption, he changed the explanation.
The school wanted publicity.
The fellowship created advantages.
Teachers protected her.
Universities wanted diversity.
Administrators feared complaints.
Every explanation produced the same conclusion.